Inflation rate down to 2.8 percent

The most recent figures released by Statistics Netherlands show that the inflation rate in August was 2.8 percent. In July, consumer prices were still 3.1 percent higher than one year previously.

Falling petrol prices had a marked effect on inflation. In August, the price of one litre of petrol was nearly 2 eurocents lower than in August 2012. Consumer prices for clothes and foreign package holidays also pushed inflation to a lower level.

Dutch inflation according to the harmonised consumer price index (HICP) slipped from 3.1 percent in July to 2.8 percent in August. The eurozone inflation rate fell to 1.3 percent in August, i.e. 0.3 percentage points lower than in July.